Little Gold Ring
by Ami Yuy 01
Summary: *complete* Heero x Relena - Why is Relena wearing a little gold ring? Who put it there? (FINALLY I got to post this!)


Begun: July 14, 2002  
Finished: September 2, 2002 (Edited June 25, 2003)  
Disclaimer: I'm not rich. Therefore I could never afford to buy the rights to Gundam Wing or this song "Midnight Confessions" by Jackie Brown. Don't sue.  
Genre: Romance, Sap, Semi-songfic, Angst  
Author's Note: Song lyrics are in italics, thoughts in ' '. I had a ton of fun writing this one-shot, and it's turned out better than I'd hoped for. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

----

**Little Gold Ring**

_"The sound of your footsteps  
Telling me that you're near  
Your soft gentle motion, baby  
Brings out the need in me that no one can hear, except_

_In my midnight confessions  
When I tell all the world that I love you  
In my midnight confessions  
When I say all the things that I want to  
I love you."_

The lyrics drifted from the window of an apartment down to the man walking beneath the cloudy night sky. To a casual observer he looked to be in a sour mood from the awful weather, but on closer inspection they would have seen that his sullen face had dropped even more when those words had reached his ears.

As his long but slow strides carried him from there, another strain worked its way into his head.

_"But a little gold ring you wear on your hand that makes me understand  
There's another before me, you'll never be mine,  
I'm wastin' my time..."_

Fists balled in anger, the man resisted the urge to punch the wall beside him; it would only bring temporary relief and then pain. Pain? What did he care about pain? A crack echoed down the almost empty street as flesh collided with brick.

"Hn." Duo was right, it was strangely satisfying. He snarled at the thought, 'Duo Maxwell.' A feral grin was placed on the features of this handsome man as a flash of lightning lit up the sky, casting eerie shadows onto the expression and sea blue eyes. "Mission accepted."

----

"Re-le-na!" The cheery voice rose from her parlor as Relena Darlian took one last glance in the mirror and hurried downstairs. It was just starting to call again as she began to descend the large staircase to below, but stopped when the caller saw her. Whistling, the man at the foot of the steps took in her softly upswept golden locks and the modest, yet fitting pastel blue gown that highlighted her already expressive blue eyes. She took the proper amount of time to make her way down the steps and once down, her gloved hand was swept up into that of the dark haired man who was waiting.

He bowed and she curtsied in return. Exuberance was overtaking him though, and he broke the silence with a reverent, "Wow." She chuckled a bit and slipped her arm through his covered in a tuxedo sleeve.

"Ready to go, Duo?" A beaming smile was on her face as she asked the question.

"Of course, gorgeous." He winked and they went out to the limousine, where he opened the door and helped her in, before entering himself.

----

"Here comes another limo... I think, yes, it's Vice Foreign Minister Darlian! Miss Darlian!"

As soon as Duo helped Relena from the limo, the cameras began flashing like crazy while the two made their way up the red carpet. She smiled brightly and again placed her arm through Duo's as they walked.

"Is it true then? Miss Darlian! Are you engaged to Duo Maxwell?" The question was called out in a myriad of ways, and Relena chose to ignore it as they escaped through the doors.

Sighing gently, she spoke to Duo so that only he could hear. "I'll be right back; I need to powder my nose."

He grinned and quipped back. "Not too much, or else you might look like you put chalk on by mistake!" She flashed him a quick smile as she moved off.

Glancing around the hotel foyer, Duo spotted the small appetizer plate and made his way over. Thoughts were flying around in his head and he tried to focus them as he appeared to scrutinize the food before him. 'Something's going to happen tonight, I can feel it...I just wish I knew what!' He was known for the veracity of his hunches, and as Relena's head bodyguard they became a very important part of his job.

With a sudden urgency, he maneuvered his way to the restrooms and knocked on the women's door. When no answer came, his gun was in hand as he slid silently into the 'forbidden territory.' Ignoring the otherwise amusing couch, he called out, "Relena?" as he swung around the corner and leveled the pistol...into the annoyed face of the woman he was looking for.

"Duo!" her high pitch chastened him as she swept up her purse and pulled him out the door. He hung his head as he apologized, missing the amused look cross her face. "Another hunch," she stated, then cracked a smile and placed her arm in his as she began leading him towards the ballroom. "So, what'd you think of the couch?..." Both of them completely unaware of the shadowed figure that stood hidden, watching.

----

The highlight of the party was, as usual, the beautiful Vice Foreign Minister and her braided escort who never lacked for a joke. As Relena glided around the room greeting various politicians, Duo was on her arm adding quick quips to get a laugh out of everyone.

Finally, all of the formalities were done and Duo didn't wait one second to sweep her onto the dance floor. They were both marvelous dancers and their steps were beautiful to watch. Despite the apparent closeness of the two, they never closed more than the traditional distance between their bodies; no one besides them knew the reason, and most everyone couldn't understand why, since they were rumored to be engaged.

They lit up the room with their laughter and beaming smiles. The energetic bodyguard always adding some comment, his dance partner laughing and adding a point of her own to light up his bright violet eyes with laughter.

----

At some point during the night, the usual waltzes had ended and slowly the people began to leave. Only about a third of the original group remained, when the tireless bodyguard was struck with an idea. "Hey, Lena. Think I could turn on some real music?"

Relena gave him a skeptical look, but replied, "As long as it's appropriate, Duo." They didn't need to give the reporters anything to talk about.

"Oh, don't worry; I know exactly what to put on." Before she could ask what, he bounded over to the sound operator who was beginning to shut down the sound board. "Hey, pal. Would you let me put on a radio station, so we've got music for the last bit?"

The man wasn't too excited about the prospect, but eventually gave in to Duo's cajoling. "Thanks man!" He reached over and flipped the dial to the station he wanted and then after listening to make sure, began to make his way back to the table where Relena had sat down.

----

The man stood silently in the shadows as he watched Duo's actions and then heard the music begin. So far, he wasn't ready to kill Duo, yet. At this point, he was just an observer to see how far they really were. His hand throbbed in reminder of the reason of his visit.

The commercials ended and, after the disk jockey's short introduction, the next song began. The silent observer remained unaware of it as he watched Duo reach Relena and fling himself into a chair beside her, chatting away. Suddenly, the words caught his ear.

_"A little gold ring...another before me...you'll never be mine...I'm wastin' my time" _

Clenching his other fist he narrowed his eyes and began to move from the shadowed corner.

It was time he did something, time that he stopped wasting his chances. Gently bumping into and brushing past Relena, he ignored her apology and continued striding towards the outer door.

He was aware of her telling Duo that she would be right back as she followed him out of curiosity. No doubt she'd recognized his unruly brown hair. As he reached the door way and gazed into the garden, the song continued.

_"Staggering though the daytime  
Your image on my mind  
Passing so close beside you baby  
Sometimes the feelings are so hard to hide, except_

_In my midnight confessions  
When I tell all the world that I love you  
In my midnight confessions  
When I say all the things that I want to  
I love you._

_But a little gold ring you wear on your hand that makes me understand  
There's another before me, you'll never be mine,  
I'm wastin' my time..."_

It was right on time, as he could hear her approaching cautiously behind him. Before she could reach out to him though, he began moving out onto the pathways of this garden labyrinth. She couldn't get close...no, not yet.

----

She had called out for the figure to wait, but to no avail. There was no doubt in her mind that she was following Heero, no one else had the same wild locks, but she had wearied of the game fairly early on. It was dark out here, she was in a formal gown, tired, and not in the mood to chase his shadow once again. For years she had searched for him, and now, when he willingly came to her, she was being led on a chase! "Heero!" her voice raised higher this time, lined with a sharp edge. When no reply came, she muttered, "Oh, come on..." Sighing loudly, she found a bench and sat down to rest her feet.

She had chosen a partially private section of the garden, where there were walls of shrubbery all around, cut through only by the path. The light was dim, but not altogether gone, as there were pathway lamps to guide one's feet and the partial crescent of the moon. Roses growing beside the pebbled path cast a light fragrance into the air, a fountain in the distance shared its relaxing sound. The bench which she had chosen was made of polished wood and beautifully sculpted iron work.

Relena's gloves were removed as she rested, and a simple gold band glinted on her left hand as she absently ran her fingers over it.

This was his signal. Silently slipping from the shadows, Heero appeared in front of her. She started as he came and stood there, towering from his six foot vantage point.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they had what seemed to be a small staring contest. In reality, neither of them could tear their gaze apart from the others, for they both had such powerful eyes.

Finally, Relena broke the silence, not the eye-connection. "You're here because of" --she held up her left hand-- "this." Not a question, she had no need to ask because he had made that clear in his eyes and in them he also told her the answer. He did, however, tense when she mentioned it, and that was what she wanted to discuss, but she was not about to start everything, so she let it hang until he could bear it no longer and broke both the gaze and silence.

"Is it true?" The monotony of his voice gave away nothing as he stared back towards the hotel.

She wanted to scream at him that of course it wasn't, how could he ever believe that! And then she remembered...she had never told him how she felt...all that there had ever been was the kiss that should have never been given. The kiss that he had apologized for afterwards, but not explained. For a few minutes she played with the ring, sliding it up and down her finger, trying to think of how to tell him.

At last, she removed it all together and held it in the palm of her hand. Laying the whole hand flat she displayed it for him to see. "Funny, how a little gold ring can cause so much fuss."

His gaze had returned to her as he tried to keep himself from forcing the information out of her faster, as well stopping himself from doing the 'other' things that crossed his mind.

"No...Duo and I are not engaged...never were..." A weight lifted as she said the words, how long had she wanted to say those words, to someone, anyone! "It was to keep the 'eligible bachelors' from constantly throwing themselves at me. Duo's wonderful, and Hilde was such a dear about it."

When she said the words, Heero's heart stopped, they weren't...and as she continued to talk, Heero's face slowly dropped the mask, allowing his relief to show. Carefully, so very carefully, he sat beside her, and she took it in stride as she continued to reveal the story. A wonderful plan in fact and remarkably well pulled off, to have fooled him.

Coming to the end of the tale, Relena glanced at the man now seated beside her. Not saying anything, she reached her left hand out, which no longer wore the little gold ring, and moved to take his right hand. That's when she noticed. It was limp, he had not wrapped it properly in his haste and the loose bit of gauze was soaked with blood. "Oh, Heero." Her soft exclamation lingered in his ears as he savored the way she had said his name.

He remained unflinching as she gently picked it up and removed the soiled fabric. Underneath, the bleeding had stopped, but the ragged gashes left from the contact with the brick wall remained outlined in the crusty scabs. She shot him a reproachful glance when she discerned what the marks were from, even if she didn't know how his hand had contacted with a wall.

Heero marveled at the tingling sensation that her soft ministrations created. Her right hand held the old gauze, and her left lay on his tuxedo covered leg and beneath his right hand, supporting it out flat so that she could work on it. Would she notice how his hands had suddenly become wet with slight perspiration?

After cleaning it up as best as possible with the already soiled gauze, she left it unwrapped, since the bleeding remained stopped. Realizing how her hand was laid, she began to withdraw it as a blush began rising to her cheeks, which she hoped that he couldn't see. She was startled to find strong fingers weaving into her own. Her hand responded in the like as her fingers and his intertwined. A glance up into his face revealed his own slight awe at the occurrence, and looking harder, she failed to see any regret as she had four years before.

In a sudden flare of her stubborn side, and to the regret of her romantic, she wrest her hand away from his grasp and stood, spinning to face him. "Not again! I won't let you play with my heart anymore! I have spent the last three years trying to get over you and I'm not going to let one night reverse it!" The stunned look that was displayed on Heero's face gave her fuel to continue on, "Like you don't know why? You come and then leave, Heero, what the heck am I supposed to do? Sit around like a good little girl and sew?" Taking a short breath she went on, "Life does not wait for you. Perhaps I should have just said, 'Of course Duo and I are getting married' so that you could leave now instead of tomorrow or the next day and take my heart with you!" Tears of anger had begun to fall from her eyes and when she stopped her tirade she tasted the bitter sweet salt on her lips. "Dang it, Heero, why do you have such power over me? WHY?" Turning on her heel she disappeared into the garden, tears blurring her vision.

----

The sound of quiet sobbing reached Duo's ears. He quickened his pace and was soon beside a tear-streaked Relena.

Regardless of her clothing she had collapsed onto the pebbled path. Her bodyguard joined her, kneeling and wrapping her thin body in the strong and reassuring hug of friendship. He softly quieted her tears as he slowly rocked her body back and forth, rubbing her back.

Slowly, her slim figure was racked less and less by tremors as she fought to control her tears. Barley audible, Duo heard her strained voice in his ear.

"Why, Duo? Who gave him the control over my heart? Why does he do this to me?"

Judging every word he said, Duo replied carefully, "He doesn't know what to do, or what he's doing, Relena. Heero's more lost than you and doesn't know how to deal with his feelings other than to try and shut them off and run away."

A nod of the head on his shoulder acknowledged that she knew this. With a sudden urgency he took his arms from around her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Moving away from her, he kept her facing him and by putting a hand under her chin, he made eye contact. The gentle sea blue eyes across from him showed no hate for the man who had made them rimmed with red, only love. Duo locked his own cobalt eyes with hers to make sure she understood every word he was about to say.

"Heero Yuy loves you, Relena, just as I can see that you love him. He loves you so much that it kills him because he can't name what he's feeling and has no idea how to deal with it. In turn, you have control of his heart and he's afraid. He's afraid to be hurt by the one thing he has ever allowed to break the cold, hard shield that has protected his heart. The one thing that has ever controlled his mind, body, and soul. He never killed you, Relena. Heero Yuy never breaks a promise, yet that promise transformed into the opposite, to protect you. And he will. With every fiber of his being he lives, breaths, and would die for you."

Relena blinked for a few seconds and then quietly rose to her feet. "How can you know this?" Her eyes now focused on her dress as she self-consciously brushed it off. Duo remained on the ground, catching her gaze when he began speaking again.

"The same way that I knew I loved Hilde and went through a part of what Heero's going through now." Looking past her he set his eyes on the shadowed figure by the opening in the hedge. "Maybe someday he'll be able to tell you himself." A sharp intake of breath showed that she had followed his eyes and now saw Heero's dark form moving towards them. Silently, Duo slipped away.

"Is it true?" Relena asked softly, praying he would give her an answer. She stood there, gloves stained with tears, crumpled in her fists, her pale blue gown speckled with dirt, her face with red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. Heero saw every minute movement, each breath passing from her lips causing the slow rise and fall of her chest, the gentle gleam of the moonlight in her eyes and in her hair, which had fallen around her face from her run through the garden, and her tears highlighted in the moon's soft glow as they escaped from her control and raced down her soft, flush-reddened cheeks. His chest contracted painfully as he watched them fall and one moisten her generous, smooth lips. He wanted to kiss those tears away. He wanted to hold her as Duo had and make everything alright. He stopped inches from her, a hand reaching up and brushing the tears from her cheeks.

No inner battle ensued this time as his lips formed one word, "Yes."

----

Review please!


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